High-salt intake affects retinal vascular tortuosity in healthy males: an exploratory randomized cross-over trial.

The retinal microcirculation is increasingly receiving credit as a relatively easily accessible microcirculatory bed that correlates closely with clinical cardiovascular outcomes. The effect of high salt (NaCl) intake on the retinal microcirculation is currently unknown. Therefore, we performed an exploratory randomized cross-over dietary intervention study in 18 healthy males. All subjects adhered to a two-week high-salt diet and low-salt diet, in randomized order, after which fundus photographs were taken and assessed using a semi-automated computer-assisted program (SIVA, version 4.0). Outcome parameters involved retinal venular and arteriolar tortuosity, vessel diameter, branching angle and fractal dimension. At baseline, participants had a mean (SD) age of 29.8 (4.4) years and blood pressure of 117 (9)/73 (5) mmHg. Overall, high-salt diet significantly increased venular tortuosity (12.2%, p = 0.001). Other retinal parameters were not significantly different between diets. Changes in arteriolar tortuosity correlated with changes in ambulatory systolic blood pressure (r = - 0.513; p = 0.04). In conclusion, high-salt diet increases retinal venular tortuosity, and salt-induced increases in ambulatory systolic blood pressure associate with decreases in retinal arteriolar tortuosity. Besides potential eye-specific consequences, both phenomena have previously been associated with hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors, underlining the deleterious microcirculatory effects of high salt intake

Safety Evaluation of α-Lipoic Acid Supplementation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Studies.

Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a natural short-chain fatty acid that has attracted great attention in recent years as an antioxidant molecule. However, some concerns have been recently raised regarding its safety profile. To address the issue, we aimed to assess ALA safety profile through a systematic review of the literature and a meta-analysis of the available randomized placebo-controlled clinical studies. The literature search included EMBASE, PubMed Medline, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, and ISI Web of Science by Clarivate databases up to 15th August 2020. Data were pooled from 71 clinical studies, comprising 155 treatment arms, which included 4749 subjects with 2558 subjects treated with ALA and 2294 assigned to placebo. A meta-analysis of extracted data suggested that supplementation with ALA was not associated with an increased risk of any treatment-emergent adverse event (all p > 0.05). ALA supplementation was safe, even in subsets of studies categorized according to smoking habit, cardiovascular disease, presence of diabetes, pregnancy status, neurological disorders, rheumatic affections, severe renal impairment, and status of children/adolescents at baseline

Effectiveness, safety and efficacy of INTELLiVENT–adaptive support ventilation, a closed–loop ventilation mode for use in ICU patients – a systematic review

Introduction: INTELLiVENT–Adaptive Support Ventilation (INTELLiVENT–ASV), an advanced closed–loop ventilation mode for use in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, is equipped with algorithms that automatically adjust settings on the basis of physiologic signals and patient’s activity. Here we describe its effectiveness, safety, and efficacy in various types of ICU patients. Areas covered: A systematic search conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and in Google Scholar identified 10 randomized clinical trials. Expert opinion: Studies suggest INTELLiVENT–ASV to be an effective automated mode with regard to the titrations of tidal volume, airway pressure, and oxygen. INTELLiVENT–ASV is as safe as conventional modes. However, thus far studies have not shown INTELLiVENT–ASV to be superior to conventional modes with regard to duration of ventilation and other patient–centered outcomes. Future studies are needed to test its efficacy

Effectiveness, safety and efficacy of INTELLiVENT–adaptive support ventilation, a closed–loop ventilation mode for use in ICU patients – a systematic review

Introduction: INTELLiVENT–Adaptive Support Ventilation (INTELLiVENT–ASV), an advanced closed–loop ventilation mode for use in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, is equipped with algorithms that automatically adjust settings on the basis of physiologic signals and patient’s activity. Here we describe its effectiveness, safety, and efficacy in various types of ICU patients. Areas covered: A systematic search conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and in Google Scholar identified 10 randomized clinical trials. Expert opinion: Studies suggest INTELLiVENT–ASV to be an effective automated mode with regard to the titrations of tidal volume, airway pressure, and oxygen. INTELLiVENT–ASV is as safe as conventional modes. However, thus far studies have not shown INTELLiVENT–ASV to be superior to conventional modes with regard to duration of ventilation and other patient–centered outcomes. Future studies are needed to test its efficacy